RECENZIJE IN POROČILA O KNJIGAH / RECENSIONI DI LIBRI / BOOK REVIEWS RECENZIJE IN POROČILA O KNJIGAH / RECENSIONI DI LIBRI / BOOK REVIEWS 197 197 
Marek TaMM , PeeTer ToroP (eds .), 
The CoMPanion To Juri LoTMan . a 
s eMioTiC Theory of CuLTure . London , 
n ew York : BLoomsBurY AcAdemic , 2022, 
534 pAges .
The Companion was published last year 
when centenary celebrations of Lotman’s 
birth were taking place in Estonia and 
around the world. It can be considered one 
of the most significant publications on Juri 
Lotman’s work to appear in recent years. 
The two co-editors, Marek Tamm and 
Peeter Torop, are renowned and established 
Estonian scholars who have made it their 
mission to bring together the diverse voices 
of researchers, influenced to one degree 
or another by the semiotician’s academic 
legacy. As they themselves write: “This is 
the very first attempt to offer a collective, 
systematic and interdisciplinary approach 
to Lotman’s intellectual legacy, bringing 
together forty-three scholars from thirteen 
countries” (2). Since the limitations of this 
text do not allow us to thoroughly present 
each author’s point of view, this brief over-
view of the work in question will highlight 
only a few selected aspects that can give 
the reader a basic insight into its structure 
and main aims, as well as the context of 
its creation.
The aforementioned commemoration 
of Lotman’s centenary was international 
in character at all levels, and was aimed 
primarily at the West. The Companion is 
no different in this respect, and it is why 
English was chosen as the language of 
publication. This ensures readers can con-
sistently follow the thoughts of individual 
authors through Lotman’s works translated 
into English. References to his English ar-
ticles and monographs are used throughout 
the work wherever possible. This strategy, 
which gives the Companion a special status 
within the Lotmaniana, is also extended 
in the form of a remarkable bibliography 
by Remo Gramigna. The bibliography 
covers English-language publications by 
and about Lotman, and contains a total of 
404 entries, 148 of which are Lotman’s 
writings published in English between 1973 
and 2020. This provides a solid foundation 
for communicating Lotman’s ideas abroad, 
and allows some gaps to be filled and his 
achievements to be even more visible in the 
eyes of an international academic audience. 
The editorial principles for structur-
ing the content are already set out by the 
co-editors in the introduction, namely that 
the Companion is divided into three main 
thematic sections through which the reader 
can progress step by step in exploring the 
“Lotmanian semiosphere”. Beginning with 
a brief biographical sketch, the first part 
of the book places Lotman’s work in the 
context of the traditions of various schools 
of thought and sheds light on his predeces-
sors. The second part narrows the focus to 
Lotman’s basic theoretical concepts, while 
the third part presents various contemporary 
approaches to his semiotics in different 
academic disciplines.
In addition to the above-mentioned 
editorial structuring of the work and its 
adjustment to the international field, and 
the transdisciplinary knitting of semiotic 
connections between disciplines that are, 
at first glance, quite different in their object 
of research, the work is also an important 
attempt to cover the period following Lot-
man’s death and all that has taken place in 
semiotics in connection with his legacy. In 
doing so, we aim at the points where the 
conception of his work has changed the most. 
This is inextricably linked to the actualisation 
of the research questions Lotman himself 

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had already posed, and their illumination 
from contemporary disciplinary perspec-
tives. The intergenerational character of the 
Companion is also particularly noteworthy, 
as the authors range from representatives 
of the older generation of semioticians to 
authors who are still at the very beginning 
of their academic careers. The openness of 
Lotman’s work and the dialogical potential 
of his intellectual legacy support the bridging 
not only of disciplinary but also of genera-
tional boundaries, and allow the authors to 
introduce themselves and their work within 
semiotics, even though they focus relatively 
narrowly on segments of Lotman’s theoretical 
framework. In other words, it is impossible 
to introduce Lotman’s work without the 
authors also introducing their own, due to 
their conceptual interconnectedness. This 
points to a common denominator that is 
explicitly or implicitly present in most of 
the Companion’s texts – the orientation 
towards the future that poses questions, 
which this work seeks to answer. How 
can the tradition of Lotmanian thought be 
continued and semiotics further developed 
on the foundations of the Tartu-Moscow 
School? The third part of the book offers a 
variety of answers to this question.
The Companion is to be understood as 
a selection or a compendium, and since 
selection implies exclusion, there are parts 
that leave us wanting. Just as context was 
crucial for Lotman, so it must be for the 
reader of the Companion. Its publication 
was limited by time constraints, the selection 
and coordination of individual chapters and 
their authors, cancellations, and other minor 
setbacks, but the result is nevertheless an 
exemplary work. The condensed format of 
the volume, and the remarkable conciseness 
of the chapters in terms of content (and 
consequently form), have certainly played 
an important role in making the volume 
manageable not only for the editors but also 
for the readers. This is especially welcome 
for beginners who want to familiarise them-
selves with Lotman’s work and have access 
to condensed information in one place – the 
book provides them with a map and com-
pass with which to effectively navigate the 
Lotmanian semiosphere.
So what has been omitted? What may the 
reader expect and not find? In the Slovenian 
context, Lotman is particularly well known 
among researchers in the field of Russian 
studies, who would have expected a section 
on certain periods of Russian literature or 
authors (e.g. Pushkin, Dostoevsky), particu-
larities in Russian cultural history, and a more 
detailed treatment of certain concepts (e.g. 
the “minus device”). I would have expected 
a chapter highlighting the applicability of 
Lotman’s theoretical concepts in the field 
of folklore studies. However, these wishes 
should not be misunderstood as criticisms, 
for the Companion fulfils its intended role 
and is aimed at a wide range of readers, 
from experts to beginners. This publication, 
dedicated to an individual who left a deep 
mark in many areas, will certainly not be 
the last project of its kind.
The reception of such multifaceted pub-
lications may be compared to seeds that 
sprout only where the soil allows, and yet 
there is also barren soil from which seeds 
unexpectedly sprout. This is the beauty of 
works that dare bring together a variety of 
viewpoints and different research directions 
in contemporary scholarship – in this case 
they draw from the same source. This is 
particularly important in the case of the 
Slovenian reception and gives hope that 
these ideas, although not new, may be 
rediscovered in certain research spheres, 
and that something new may emerge from 

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them. The Companion will help researchers 
better conceptualise, understand and reflect 
on their own work – at least the part that 
draws on Lotman. Knowing him will help 
us better understand our own work and the 
dynamics between them. We may well con-
clude that although Lotman’s work is not a 
unified doctrine but reflects a particular way 
of thinking, the Companion fulfils the role 
it plays as a unique tribute to this semiotic 
way of thinking.
Rok Mrvič, Ljubljana
Suzana Marjanić, Mitovi i re/
konStrukcije: tragoM nodilove “Stare 
vjere” Srba i Hrv ata. ZAgreB : i nstitut 
ZA etnoLogiju i foLkLoristiku , 2022, 559 
strAnA .
Osnovni predmet studije Suzane Marjanić 
Mitovi i re/konstrukcije: tragom Nodilove 
“stare vjere” Srba i Hrvata jeste znamenita 
knjiga Natka Nodila Stara vjera Srba i Hrvata 
(objavljivana najpre pod naslovom Religija 
Srba i Hrvata, na glavnoj osnovi pjesama, 
priča i govora narodnog) (1885–1890), 
prva rasprava o hrvatskoj i srpskoj (juž-
noslovenskoj) mitologiji. Ona se, kako ističe 
autorka, tematski može podeliti na dve veće 
celine – na vidovnu/solarnu mitologiju, i 
na studije o Gromovniku (Perunu), Ognju, 
vilama (meteorološka mitologija), religiju 
groba (antropologija smrti) i Mesečevu (lu-
narnu) mitologiju, i tu strukturu prati knjiga 
koja je pred nama. Sastoji se od uvodnog 
(Mitski uvodnik: Nodilova re/konstrukcija 
„stare vjere“ Srba i Hrvata) i još dvanaest 
poglavlja, koja se nižu sledećim redom: I. 
Mitsko u epskom ili božansko u ljudskom 
i svetačkom; II. Religija nebesnoga vidila; 
III. (Dijadna) boginja i duoteizam; IV. 
Temeljni mitski agon: Svantevid i njegov 
polionimijski protivnik; V. Blizanačka 
(embriološka) mitologija: dijada i trijada 
astralne mitologije; VI. O Suncu, ali bez 
prvenstva solarne mitološke teorije: noćna 
trilogija Sunca; VII. Solarna heptalogija i 
dodekalogija vs. vučja historija; VIII. Hod 
Sunca kroz godinu: ep o dodekalogiji; IX. 
Nodilova munjevna teorija: (feminina) 
aždaja i (maskulini) zmaj; X. Vatra kao 
domovina smrti u Nodilovoj Religiji groba; 
XI. Lunarna mitologija; XII. Autotematiza-
cijsko traganje za zaključnom sintezom o 
Nodilovoj re/konstrukciji srpsko-hrvatske/
hrvatsko-srpske mitologije, te obimnog spiska